Sermons
Seekers recognizes that any member of the community may be called upon by God to give us the Word, and thus we have an open pulpit with a different preacher each week. Sermons preached at Seekers, as well as sermons preached by Seekers at other churches or events, are posted here, beginning with the most recent.
Click here for an archive of our sermons.
Feel free to use what is helpful from these sermons. We only ask that when substantial portions are abstracted or used in a written work, please credit Seekers Church and the author, and cite the URL.
.wp-show-posts-columns#wpsp-4136 {margin-left: -2em; }.wp-show-posts-columns#wpsp-4136 .wp-show-posts-inner {margin: 0 0 2em 2em; } Thank you very much for the invitation to give this sermon. Initially I was wondering, who am I to give the sermon? With the reluctance of those of us who know we are unworthy, I said to myself, “If they trust me to do so, there will be some reason from God.” And when I read today’s readings, I realized that I have something important to say, at least to myself. My family is a witness that I am too shy to talk about the things of God, and they have always complained to me about that. But let’s get started. The first reading is from the prophet Isaiah, specifically from the first Isaiah, which occurs in the context of a social-political boom under the rule of King Ozías [Uzziah]. According to the book of 2 Kings, it was a time of splendor, of domination of other nations, of great construction, of economic bonanza, of expansion of agriculture. The vineyard had been taken care of by God, it had received all the necessary care to bear fruit, but the fruits were not as expected. Instead of justice the iniquity was generated, the poor were neglected, there were pomp, waste, luxury, and excess; even rites were copied from other cultures for other gods. The people who had been liberated from Egypt, and who had lived in abundance after that, did not bear fruit. On July 19, 1979, 40 years ago, the people of Nicaragua were liberated from the dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza, the last of a dynasty that ruled more than 30 years in Nicaragua and that remained in power by repressing the opposition. That July 19, with the FSLN, the guerrilla who fought against Somoza, Nicaragua and many other Latin American countries had hope; it was a sign that change was possible. We left Egypt; we believed that a new society and a new humanity was emerging, fairer and more egalitarian. This project ended in 1990 as a result of its own mistakes, for not being able to understand the discontents of the people, and also because of the political and economic isolation to which it was subjected. Saint Maximilian Kolbe was a Polish priest who provided shelter for thousands of Jews in his friary and was an active voice against the Nazi violence. He was arrested by the German Gestapo and imprisoned at Auschwitz. When a fellow prisoner escaped from the camp, the Nazis selected ten other prisoners to be killed in reprisal. As they were lined up to die, one began to cry, “My wife! My children! I will never see them again!” At this, Maximilian stepped forward and asked to die in his place. His request was granted, and he led the other men in song and prayer as they awaited their deaths. Maximilian had also lived in Japan and founded a monastery on the outskirts of Nagasaki. Four years after his martyrdom, on August 9, 1945, the atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, but his monastery miraculously survived. Maximilian’s feast day, when Christians around the world celebrate his life and sainthood as a hero of thechurch, falls one week [on August 14th] after Nagasaki Day. Each year, we spend the week reflecting on the best and the worst that human beings are capable of. [footnote 1] Let us pray: May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts together find favor in your heart, O my Beloved, my strength and my joy! The gospel we read in Luke today is part of a passage that, in the New International Version, has the heading “Do Not Worry.” Right before today’s reading, Jesus tells his followers to consider the ravens, how God feeds them, and the lilies, how God clothes them. And Jesus says, in Verse 29, Do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; … But seek the kin-dom of God, and these things will be given to you as well. The Bible readings for today give us a compelling vision for what we could be: We long to be that new humanity. Yet we all know how fleeting are the moments when we experience oneness with others.So what blocks us from being that which we long to be? Good Morning. It’s the middle of summer, lots of us on vacation, so this sermon is taking advantage of the summer mood—it will be a little off beat. How many of you remember the night 50 years ago when Armstrong walked on the moon? Do you remember the mood of the country? Anything was possible. The future would be so wonderful and different. I went to Disney World 30 years ago, and I still remember the futuristic scenes of flying space cars and people movers everywhere. Now, when you use your imagination, what do you think the world will be like 50 years from now? What about 100 years from now? I have put index cards on the seats—if you have a pen, take one minute to write down your initial impression—just key adjectives or main ideas you think of. I will give you one minute. We seem to be living through some pretty tough times. The ever-deepening drama downtown is raising the volume of fear and anger at many levels. From the interpersonal to the international, we’re learning to expect disrespect. It hurts! Anne Lamott reminds us in our reflection for this season that “hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come.” It feels to me like we’re in a dark night of the soul. Some days it’s a real challenge to “wait and watch and work” in the dark. And living with 100-degree days doesn’t help!“Waiting for the Resurrection” by Tomás Rodríguez
August 18, 2019The Tenth Sunday after Pentecost
“Do Not Worry and Stay Alert” by Elizabeth Gelfeld
August 11, 2019The Ninth Sunday after Pentecost
“Recognize Your Rank and Use it for All” by Ron Kraybill
August 4, 2019The Eighth Sunday after Pentecost
“50th Anniversary of Apollo Moon Landing and Memories of My Father: What Will the Church be in 100 Years” by Cynthia Dahlin
July 28, 2019The Seventh Sunday after Pentecost
“Doing What is Right: Civil Rights and Civil Responsibilities” by Peter Bankson
July 21, 2019The Sixth Sunday after Pentecost